Will Smith has announced his ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ reboot has been ordered for two seasons.
The 51-year-old star – who found fame on the 90s sitcom – pitched a dramatic retelling of the hit comedy to NBC’s streaming service, Peacocks, who have picked up the show for two full seasons.
In a YouTube video, he excitedly told fans: "We have just officially closed the deal with Peacock with an unprecedented two-season-order from a pitch.
"I’ve been in this business for 30 years and that does not happen. They ordered two full seasons of ‘Bel-Air’ based on the quality of the pitch and the work that you guys have done."
In a statement Peacocks confirmed the news, saying: "With a re-imagined vision, ‘Bel-Air’ will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show."
The original show ran from 1990 to 1996 and starred Smith playing Will, a fictionalised version of himself who moved from West Philadelphia to live with his aunt and uncle in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a street fight.
The new series has been inspired by a fan-made trailer which retells the rags-to-riches story.
Morgan Cooper released the trailer of his updated version of ‘The Fresh Prince’ last year which got Smith’s attention and they came together to turn it into a serialised drama.
The new ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ will be able to dive deeper into the conflicts, emotions, and biases that there wasn’t time for in the original sitcom, but will still see the main character – named Will Smith – shipped out to live with his relatives in Bel Air after getting himself into trouble at home.
In the YouTube chat, Morgan said: "’Bel-Air’ is a re-imagining. It’s a reinterpretation of this incredible story, and bringing it into modern day life in 2019."
And Will added: "As funny as the episodes are, there was a whole other layer that you couldn’t do. In a one hour drama, you can do eight episode arcs! The dramatic version of these ideas means that you can use existing storylines, but it’s not going to seem like you’re redoing an episode, because the storyline’s gonna be brand new from the dramatic perspective."